Leftover potatoes?

About 10 pm on Friday night we STILL had mashed potatoes.

They were everywhere.

So, with 15 people looking for a late night snack -- my sister and I decided to experiment with the gobs of potatoes lurking in every nook and cranny of her 2 fridges.

First step:

Mix togeter:

2 cups mashed potatoes

1/2 cup flour

1 egg

3/4 cup (more or less ok) shredded cheddar 

Swirl & heat about 3 tablespoons cooking oil in the bottom of a non-stick pan.

Drop by spoonfuls on to the heated pan - 

Cook for about one minute, then flip and flatten with a spatula.

Cook for another minute - then put on a plate lined with paper towel.

Eat immediately!  --- as if they last longer than a minute!

Our group ate them plain ...and with a variety of toppings - including:  Salsa, Sour Cream, ketchup, syrup, cheese & honey.

They were a huge hit!!

Happy  Thanksgiving!

Thank you blog readers, friends & family

 for visiting this crazy blog of mine and

encouraging me to keep at it!

Whatever your circumstance today,

Be thankful for something . . .

even if you are thankful you aren't a turkey!

Love  ya'all

Cheri

Mama's Song

Our Baby Girl sent me a song last night. 
First I read the words ... and got a little teary.
THEN I played the recording ---  oooh baby....that was it for me.  I lost it.
DIY Guy just watched me and smiled -- while the happy tears rolled down my cheeks.

Before you listen and/or read there's a disclaimer Baby Girl wanted you to know:
She's not going 'down the aisle' in the near future....and there is no baby.
The rest is true.

Mama you taught me to do the right things
So now you have to let your baby fly
You've given me everything that I will need
To make it through this crazy thing called life
And I know you watch me grow up and always want whats best for me
And I think I found the answer to your prayers

And he is good, so good

He treats your little girl like a real man should
He is good, so good, he makes promises he keeps
No he's never gonna leave
So dont you worry about me
Dont you worry about me

Mama theres no way you'll ever lose me
And giving me away is not goodbye
As you watch me walk down to my future, I hope tears of joy are in your eyes

Cuz he is good, so good
He treats your little girl like a real man should
He is good, so good, he makes promises he keeps
No he's never gonna leave
So dont you worry about me
Dont you worry about me

And when I watch my little baby grow I'll only want whats best for her

And I hope she'll find the answer to my prayers
And that she'll say

He is good, so good
He treats your little girl like a real man should
He is good, so good, he makes promises he keeps
No he's never gonna leave
So dont you worry about me
Dont you worry about me

Mama dont you worry about me

Michael, thanks for treating our little girl

like a real man should!

oh....and....

Happy Birthday !

You are hitting it out-of-the-park 

with our Baby Girl!

So moms, daughters, and girlfriends -

did it get to ya?  

Or am I alone on this one?

I don't do this . . .

I don't do this sort of thing.  I don't.  

I don't like crowds.  I don't like long lines. 

I'm the person who bought a book on how to get through Disney World avoiding the lines and crowds when we took our three kids so many years ago.  I'm also not a "star follower".  But somehow this event, and this woman managed get me out of bed earlier than usual on a Saturday morning...and then spend hours in line waiting for few minutes with this blog writer. 

Maybe it was all the hype--  or it could be the fear that I'd be missing out on something fun and exciting that urged me on . . . regardless of the reason, or lack of reason...I went. 

With some embarrassment, I'm admitting that my friend Jen and I waited in line with 548 other people, mostly women - for five hours -  to get our cookbooks signed and chat for a minute with Ree Drummond -- The Pioneer Woman at the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN.

Fox news came too !

When Ree (a.k.a. The Pioneer Woman) arrived she answered some questions people had written down --- then she got busy signing books.  


Shortly after that, her husband (a.k.a. Marlboro Man)-- her name for him, not mine ---arrived with their two boys.  Marlboro Man took some pics of us . . .

and got ambushed to sign some books himself

Eventually they provided Marlboro man and the boys a table and chairs!

These pics are reversed -- but the boys quickly sat down and promptly proceeded to show each other some brotherly love!

However, they quickly got busy signing books just like their momma and daddy!

Our spot in line  ---  was right behind the three of them!

really . . .

Sorry -- but (no pun intended) if you read the blog  you know that this is a popular "view".

Ree, Me, Jen

My BF Ree and I . . .

That "view" I mentioned....

Yeah, it's at the back of the cookbook!

It's where Marlboro Man and the boys sign!

Can't you just hear the boys . . .

"Mom, why is there a picture of Dad's butt in your cookbook ?"

Thanks for going with me Jen!  I enjoyed the time with you and getting to know you even better!

16 years.

The number of years we experienced life with kids in school.   

Sixteen years of helping with homework (and enduring homework tears), going to parent-teacher conferences, packing lunches, signing permission slips, volunteering in classrooms, doing school projects, going on field trips, proms, homecoming, danceline, plays, sporting events, band concerts, graduation open houses, chaperoning dances, award ceremonies.....well...you get the idea.  Night after night of running here...and there...and constant activity.

and now we are experiencing......

Quiet.  Silence.  Just the two of us.  Night after night.  

.....and we aren't complaining. . . 

Because . . . . now we eat dinner and don't have homework afterwards.

because  . . . now we can watch what we like on tv --- without interruption.

because . . .  now we don't run every night of the week.

   blah, blah, blah...you get the idea.  

We do miss those things from time to time --- wait...no we don't....what am I saying?

Enjoy each life stage -- they're all good....in their own way.

Wild wheels . . .

DIY Guy and I decided today that we missed this . . .

We sure had a lot of fun on this

1981

Kawasaki 440

Whaddya say babe?  

Get another one?

Ready for a mid-life crisis?

Do we still qualify for that?

I just want to say . . .

My mama told me, don't lose you
Cause the best luck I had was you.
And I know, one thing.
I love you.

(33 years ago - as of early Dec)

Mama was right.